


The Sword Linked to the Fan

by A_F_S_M_A_S



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azulaang Chakras AU, F/M, Fluff, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Not LOK Compliant, Not comics compliant, Show Canon Compliant, many minor characters are mentioned, not books compliant, with a generous serving of worldbuilding on the side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_F_S_M_A_S/pseuds/A_F_S_M_A_S
Summary: Sokka has done a lot of soul searching.That thinking has led him to a question he wants to ask Suki.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	The Sword Linked to the Fan

The first attempt had a slight but far too noticeable bent.

The second attempt looked way too much like an egg.

The third was coming along well, but then it reminded him too much of another he saw, so he discarded it.

The fourth necklace was… okay, he guessed.

“How am I so bad at this!?” Sokka screamed. He couldn’t help but remember past creative endeavors, such as his attempt to make lost posters for Appa, Master Piandao’s creative challenges, and how he tried to paint Team Avatar’s victory dinner at the Jasmine Dragon. Not once in his life had he ever produced a piece of art that was appreciated by his friends, teachers, and peers. Was it too much to ask of the universe that it grant him just enough artistic talent to make a decent betrothal necklace?

“Sokka, if you focus so much on making it perfect, you’ll never stop trying,” counseled Katara, who had taken a rare vacation from her role as Ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe to help him. She had burst into tears of joy and hugged him when Sokka told her that he was going to propose to Suki, but now it seemed that her role was to make sure that the proposal happened at all. At this rate, Sokka would spend the rest of the year making, discarding, and remaking betrothal necklaces.

“But I can make it perfect!” he insisted. “I know I can!”

“Suki will love whatever you give her.”

“I know, but… it has to be special, Katara. It has to be.”

With the weight of defeat crushing down upon him, Sokka lowered his head to the table, smacking his forehead on the wood. Katara put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then, a moment later, she let go, and broke the silence with a gentle, “Here.”

Sokka looked up to see what she meant, and found her holding out Gran-Gran’s necklace to him. “Katara…”

“You should use this.”

“Katara, I can’t take this from you.”

She took his hand and placed the necklace in his palm, closing his fingers over the pendant and wrapping her hands around his fist. “Gran-Gran gave it to dad so he could propose to mom. I think they would all be honored if you gave it to Suki.”

Sokka, on the verge of tears, threw his arms around Katara, hugging her tight. “You are the best little sister ever! Of all time!”

“Yes,” she agreed, hugging her brother back. “Yes, I am.”

* * *

Sokka’s ship made port at Kyoshi Island’s main harbor just as noon passed overhead. The damage to Suki’s village seemed completely repaired, but a good eye could spot where the older homes that survived the fires clashed with the new ones built to replace their neighbors.

It was almost strange to think that Zuko’s face was once the face of the entire Fire Nation in his mind’s eye. It was only in retrospect that Sokka could see the restraint that Zuko and his men had operated with throughout their dogged pursuit. The Three Flames had been anything but restrained wherever they attacked. Kyoshi Island held no major military significance in the grand scheme of things. It, alongside his village, Gaoling, and the Northern and Southern Air Temples, was attacked only to drive a knife into the hearts of Team Avatar as part of the Flames’ goal to restart the war. Among the island’s dead were Koko, an admirer of Aang’s, and Oyaji, the village’s leader and Suki’s mentor.

Suki hadn’t left her home since the defeat of the Three Flames last year. She had kept her people’s spirits up during the reconstruction process alongside Obasan, first among Kyoshi Island’s clerics and its new, de facto leader. In private, Suki had confessed to him that Obasan had urged her to accept the elders’ appointment and properly succeed Oyaji.

“Why don’t you want to?” he had asked.

In her hesitation, Sokka understood what Suki was leaving unspoken. Succeeding Oyaji was an admission that the mentor who raised her after her parents’ deaths was truly gone, an admission to the fear that she would not be able to live up to the example he set. Nevertheless, her response was not a lie. “Leading the Kyoshi Warriors isn’t the same thing as leading an entire village. I would have to remain here, separated from you.”

“Suki, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of you doing your duty for your people. If it’s what you want, we can make a long-distance relationship work-”

She stopped him by putting her hand on his. “There’s more than one way to help my people. In the United Republic, I can be a voice for Kyoshi Island on an international stage. Plus, having you by my side will keep me from going crazy over all the politics.”

Sokka hoped he would prove worthy of that devotion. As he walked down the village road, he reached into his pocket to check to make sure that the necklace was still there, as he did a thousand times already since first putting it there. With the right necklace in hand, all Sokka had to do was figure out how to actually ask her.

Traditionally, a man of the Water Tribe was supposed to ask a woman’s parents for their blessing before asking her. In the Southern Water Tribe, marriage was a custom born from necessity. The South Pole was a harsh land, and demanded great strength from those who would live there. Marriage did more than just unite families and villages. It was a means of survival. However, that wasn’t how proposals were done on Kyoshi Island, and Suki’s parents were long dead. There was an old story on the island of a man who asked the elderly Kyoshi for the hand of her youngest daughter. The avatar stood up and drew her fan, telling the young man to prove his worth as a potential son-in-law in battle. Even in her old age, Kyoshi was without equal. Though defeated, the man had earned Kyoshi’s respect and blessing to marry her daughter. This had started something of a tradition where men would ask their future in-laws for their blessing while armed, as either parent might challenge them to a fight right then and there. With a sad smile, Sokka thought of how he might have had to duel Oyaji had the old man lived to see the day where Sokka would ask for his blessing.

Sokka found Suki in the old dojo, overseeing a group of young girls going through their drills. “Remember, girls, those fans are extensions of your arms,” she told them. “Your movements should reflect that.”

“Yes, teacher!” the class replied in unison.

As the lesson eventually came to its end and Suki dismissed the girls, Sokka made his presence known. “Any of them going to replace me as your favorite student?”

“They show a lot of promise, but none of them are as cute as you.”

As they kissed, the girls started giggling and talking amongst themselves. Suki broke off from their kiss to lay down the law. “The last one of you to get to your chi blocking lesson has to clean out the ostrich horse stalls tonight.”

The girls quickly scurried out of the dojo. “I love it when you strike fear into the hearts of children,” Sokka complimented before kissing her again.

* * *

Lovefire Peak, renamed long ago in honor of Avatar Kyoshi’s lady love, was the highest point on the island. When the cherry blossoms bloomed in the spring, Lovefire Peak was the best place to watch the island come alive in pink. On the summer solstice, Kyoshi Island’s most romantic holiday, the peak was the perfect spot to exchange gifts with a lover, leave offerings in memory of past lovers, or to pray to whatever generous spirit would help save them from solitude. It was also the scene of a certain tradition for the Kyoshi Warriors and those who had won their hearts, as Suki showed him on the first night they came back to the island following Zuko’s coronation.

“Suki, are you sure it’s okay to, uh… do this... here?” he had asked her that night. She had him flat on his back, carefully straddling his hips so as not to hurt his still healing leg.

“We would be disrespecting Kyoshi if we didn’t,” Suki had told him while removing her shirt.

The day after, the other Kyoshi Warriors were all knowing glances and sly smiles, both to congratulate Suki and to tease him.

With this context in mind, Sokka knew what Suki thought he meant when he asked if she would join him there that night. She had been surprised that he only wanted to share a meal and talk with her for the afternoon and evening instead of going back to her place for some real privacy. Lovefire Peak was the perfect spot, but he knew asking her out of the blue might seem suspicious. After dinner, she slipped out of the house in her casual attire, leaving behind her jade kimono and the majority of her weaponry on the table for him to find. A Kyoshi Warrior went nowhere unarmed, but it was impolite to ask a lady where she was keeping her weapons. 

Sokka walked the path up the little mountain alone, his mind needled by anxiety. “I can do this,” he told himself, repeating it over and over. His hand never left his pocket, holding the necklace as if it was the only thing anchoring him to reality.

An anchor was exactly what he needed as his imagination started to turn against him, conjuring many scenarios where he screwed up. His mind’s eye saw himself stumbling in his words, dropping the necklace, tripping on the way up and splitting his head open, and a thousand other ways he could ruin this. As far as his anxiety was concerned, there was no certainty to cling on to.

 _At least it’s a nice night out_ , a random thought came to him.

Sokka froze. It was at that moment that he realized there was a full moon tonight.

He slowly turned his gaze skyward, wondering how he could have missed it. The moon was so bright tonight. “Hey, Yue,” he greeted, his voice soft and somber.

What should he say? What could he say? Their time together was so brief, yet it had forever changed him. She had forever changed him. As a boy, Hakoda had taught him of bravery and sacrifice, but Yue had shown him what they really meant. She saved the whole world, restoring life and balance in the face of death and chaos.

Her words reverberated in his mind. _I have to do this_.

Sokka still remembered the Serpent’s Pass, where he let his fear and pain dictate his actions and cloud his vision. He let his feelings make him forget the fact that Suki could take care of herself, and he almost let those feelings push her away. He hung his head in shame. People called him the idea guy, but Sokka vividly remembered every foolish thing he had ever said or done.

He also knew that, were Suki, or Katara, or any of his friends or family there at his side, they would not let him be so self-deprecating. What would they say if they were with him tonight? Sokka imagined they might tell him that his past fears and failures did not define him. Tonight was his moment of truth, to prove he had grown wiser from his experiences. He knew he had good examples to inspire him. He remembered crying at his grandfather’s funeral, how Gran-Gran held him close, telling Sokka that part of him would always be with them. She loved granddad, but she didn’t let that loss stop her from accepting Pakku’s proposal. Aang lost his entire people, but he still accepted Team Avatar as his family. They didn’t let grief get in the way of living their lives.

“Love is like energy,” Aang had told him once, sharing the words of the guru who helped him master the Avatar State. “It swirls all around us. The love of those we have lost never leaves the world. It remains in our hearts. Every time we love someone new, that love is reborn.”

 _Goodbye, Sokka. I’ll always be with you_.

Sokka bowed to the moon with all the respect a princess was due. “Thank you for everything, Yue.” As he continued his path up the mountain, the moonlight that fell upon him felt encouraging.

At the very top of Lovefire Peak, Suki was leaning against a rock, a mischievous smirk adorning her face. As soon as he was in reach, she wrapped her hands around the sides of his face and drew him into a kiss. She then started to untie the sash at her waist, but he stopped her. “There’s no need to rush. Let’s just enjoy this romantic moment.”

“Sokka,” she teased, “are you getting sappy on me?”

“A little.”

Suki readjusted her sash and joined him against the stone. From the top of the peak, the pair could see every torchlit village of the island, the swaying trees in the breeze, and the way the surrounding water reflected the moon and stars above. In that view, it was hard to tell where in the distance the sky ended and the ocean began.

“It’s hard to think we’ll be sailing north soon,” spoke Suki.

Sokka let out a long breath, nodding his head. The new mantle of responsibility still did not sit easily on his shoulders. Following his successful commands at the Siege of the Republic and the Last Stand of the Rough Rhinos, the council set up to oversee the new country unanimously elected him to the position of chief minister. It would be his duty to see to the day-to-day operations of making both the United Republic and its capital city a reality. His new role would begin in just a few short months. “A whole new nation, with me directing its foundations.”

She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do great.”

He smiled and put a hand over hers. “And with an army trained by the Kyoshi Warriors, no one will ever think of messing with the republic again.”

“True.”

Sokka smiled, though sadly so. He hadn’t told her before of what was on his mind, but he felt that it needed to get out. She had to know what led to this. 

_I can do this_ , Sokka told himself, his mind prodded by worry. “Do you remember the last day of the siege?”

Suki nodded, surprised. They hadn’t spoken of the Siege of the Republic before. Though a great victory, the scars of that battle still ran deep for those who survived it. His gaze fell away from her, staring out into the dark woods below them. “There was a moment, after Mongke and his army were gone, when I looked for you but couldn’t find you at first. I must have ran all along the ruins of the barricades, asking everyone I came across if they had seen you. ...I’m sorry to say it, but I let my fear get the best of me. As I kept running through the wreckage of the battlefield, screaming out your name, unable to find you… I thought I lost you.”

Suki put a hand on his cheek, turning his head so that his eyes would meet hers. “I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”

He nodded, letting her touch banish his fear and shame. “After that day, when we were marching towards Kolau, I started thinking about my life and everything that had happened. When the Hundred Year War ended, and we were all together celebrating in the Jasmine Dragon, I thought that the hardest part of my life was over. In some ways it was, and in so many ways it wasn’t. There aren’t that many problems nowadays that I can just throw a boomerang at to fix.

“But all that thinking I did also reminded me of how much my life has changed for the better. I’m not just the meat and sarcasm guy I used to be, and I owe a lot of that change to you. It’s funny to think we met in the first place because Aang wanted to ride on the elephant koi.”

Suki chuckled. “I outta thank Aang again for that. Who would have thought that ambushing intruders on the beach would result in getting my first boyfriend?”

He nodded, thanking Aang once again for taking them where he didn’t need pants. “When I asked you to train me, no one would have blamed you if you had chosen to turn me down. I was stupid, and sexist, and disrespectful. I would have punched past me for the things I said and the way I acted. But you didn’t turn me away. You taught me humility and wisdom, and reminded me what honor and strength really mean. I would never have become the man I wanted to be, the man I needed to be, without you.”

Suki wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her hands on his back. “And if it hadn’t been for you to inspire me, I would never have left home at all, and I would never have gotten to pull off that airship slice.”

Sokka laughed, his smile stretching from ear to ear. If he hadn’t already been in love with her, watching Suki ram one airship into another, saving his life, Toph’s life, and the world in the process, would have made a simp out of him for the rest of his life.

 _I can do this_ , Sokka told himself, confidence building inside him. 

“You make me feel like I can do anything, like I can find solutions to any problem life throws at me. You make me feel amazing, Suki, and... if you’ll let me, I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life making you feel the same way.”

“Sokka?”

 _I can do this_ , he told himself. “There’s a question I’d like to ask you.”

As Sokka pulled out the necklace from his pocket, it took a second for Suki to recognize what he was holding out to her. Her eyes opened even wider as she instinctively covered her agape mouth with her hands. “Suki,” he asked, trying to stop himself from getting choked up, “will you marry me?”

Tears started to form in Suki’s eyes a second before they came to Sokka’s. “Yes,” came as a whisper from her smiling lips. Sokka was so overwhelmingly happy that his fingers fumbled at the clasp as he wrapped it around her neck. Illuminated by moonlight, the necklace looked better on her than he had ever imagined.

The two embraced each other once again, exchanging a passionate kiss. As their lips finally grew apart, Sokka said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she echoed, kissing him again.

* * *

Only dogs could hear the high-pitched squeal that Ty Lee let out when Suki told her fellow Kyoshi Warriors. She hugged the two of them longer than the rest of their sisters combined.

Toph’s response to the news was to smile and shout, “No fucking way!” and punch them both in the arm to congratulate them.

Without Appa on hand, traveling to the Fire Nation in person would take too much time, so Zuko and Mai were informed by the wedding invitation that Sokka sent with Hawky to Caldera City.

It took Sokka some time to get a hold of Aang, as it often did. Even with the colony crisis long over, the last holdouts resolved, and the defeat of the Three Flames, Aang was still putting out fires left and right, bringing hope and restoring peace wherever he went. When Sokka finally found him in the Earth Kingdom, the controlled veneer of the avatar vanished in the ecstasy of seeing his old friend.

Time and its trials had changed Team Avatar, Aang most of all. He had grown so much in the years since they first met. Though still two more years shy of manhood, the boy from the iceberg was fading away before Sokka’s eyes. He was leaner now, the bones of his cheeks and shoulders more defined, and his muscles stronger. The idea of Aang one day growing taller than him now seemed an eventuality rather than a possibility. “You look happier than usual, Sokka,” he pointed out. “Anything I should know?”

Sokka put a hand on Aang’s shoulder. “I asked Suki to marry me.”

With jaw dropped and eyes wide, he asked, “Did she say yes?”

“No. I’m smiling because she broke my heart. OF COURSE SHE SAID YES!”

Aang embraced him again, nearly lifting him off of his feet in the process. Their shared laughter rang out for all near to hear. Aang’s response was so elated that Sokka had to calm him down to ask his question. “Aang, will you be my best man?”

“Me?”

“If it weren’t for you, Suki and I would never have met. There’s no one I would want more than you to stand by my side when the day comes.”

Another big hug was Aang’s way of saying yes. 

* * *

The couple’s first decision during the engagement period was that it would be a small ceremony. Despite their status as war heroes and world leaders, neither of them needed or wanted big crowds of people they didn’t know. Team Avatar, Hakoda, Bato, Gran-Gran, and Pakku were naturally the first on the guest list. Other guests included the rest of Kyoshi Island and Sokka’s village, Iroh, Piandao, Haru and his parents, Teo and his dad, The Duke, Pipsqueak, Longshot, and Smellerbee. To their surprise, they even received confirmation from invited allies who they didn’t think could make it, including King Bumi, Jeong Jeong, Due, Tho, Huu, the Big Bad Hippo, and the Boulder. Katara was elected to ensure that such guests were dressed and acted appropriately for the wedding.

Aang volunteered for the task of bringing the wedding’s Fire Nation guests to Kyoshi Island, as well as Iroh from distant Ba Sing Se. The last time Zuko and Mai had been outside of the Fire Nation had been to celebrate the end of the war in the Jasmine Dragon. It would also be the first time since their reunion that Ursa would leave the Fire Nation.

These early decisions proved to be the easiest. Now, Sokka and Suki had to work out the structure of the wedding itself. Never before, at least not in recorded history, had a marriage taken place between their two cultures. Kanna came early to Kyoshi Island specifically to work out the kinks with the couple and Obasan. Though conversations never quite became heated, more than once the two elders butted heads as they argued over how the wedding would take shape.

“The wedding should take place here, on Kyoshi Island,” stated Obasan matter-of-factly.

Kanna was quick to refute that tone. “And why not in the south pole?”

“Given the number of foreign guests, I simply assumed that we would be better able to accommodate them. We’d also be saving the guests the difficulty of sailing further south.”

“Our village is not some backwater hovel. My husband and granddaughter have made great strides in restoring and expanding our home.”

“I meant nothing disrespectful, Lady Kanna. But Suki is the leader of our warriors. Her wedding should take place here-”

“Whereas Sokka is the son of our chief.”

Sokka and Suki had to step in more than once for the sake of controlling how their wedding took place and to prevent a shouting match. They eventually settled on having the wedding on Kyoshi Island, though the two would travel to the South Pole to make a customary offering to the spirits of the south.

The Southern Water Tribe, traditionally, did not have a formal officiant for weddings. The village’s elder or chief might say a few words, but the ceremony was primarily between the couple and their families. The religion of the Southern Water Tribe was not as organized as it was in the north, and this was reflected in many of their customs. Before the war, the south pole had water sages who served their communities in a variety of roles, though they did not wield the same power that their northern counterparts did. At weddings, a sage would make sacrificial offerings to spirits, asking them to watch over the new union, but the Fire Nation had put an end to those days. Kyoshi Island weddings always had a cleric to oversee the ceremony, as well as the offerings and rituals done before the wedding day. It was agreed that Obasan would officiate the wedding and carry out Kyoshi Island’s traditional rituals, while Kanna would act as a supporting officiant and fulfill the tasks of a water sage.

One morning, Suki brought Sokka to a small shrine where three small statues waited for them. “Who are they?” he asked.

“These are some of our local spirits. My people leave them offerings before a wedding, each for a specific purpose.” Suki gestured to the first statue, a round little warrior armed with sword, shield, and fan. “This is Anzen, who we ask to protect us and our guests on the wedding night. We ask her to help us to remain strong during whatever challenges that life throws at us.”

She moved her hand to the second statue, a white fox. “From Niwashi we ask for growth. Both literally, such as for new crops, and figuratively, so that we can become wiser, richer, and happier together.”

“What about the little snake guy?”

A smirk befitting any cat that swallowed the batcanary sprouted on Suki’s lips. “That’s Hanemun. We honor him for a productive wedding night, for the couple and for the guests.”

Sokka almost blushed, then immediately matched her smirk with his own. “In that case,” he said, drawing Suki closer to him, “let’s make sure Hanemun is properly honored.”

Suki lovingly moved her hand across his cheek and raised her head up to his, but put her finger between their lips, blocking the kiss at the last second. “It’s also a tradition for the couple to remain chaste between the proposal and the ceremony.”

Denied but still smiling, Sokka told his fiancée, “Well, I once agreed to wear a dress for you. I guess I can wait a couple months out of respect for your culture.”

Suki laughed and kissed her fiancé.

Additional offerings were made to the Ocean and Moon spirits, as well as in memory of ancestors. As Kanna led the villagers in their prayer, both Katara and Suki took his hands at the mention of the Moon Spirit. He gave them a nod and smile to confirm that he was okay.

Next was to decide how the wedding itself would take place. Sokka had already given her a Water Tribe betrothal necklace. Another Southern Water Tribe custom would be the gifts that they would exchange during the ceremony. Traditionally, the man would wrap a sealskin cloak around his new wife’s shoulders, or one made of silk if he had bought or won it in a raid, signifying to the village of what he would provide to keep her warm and comfortable. The bride would give her husband a new weapon, such as a spear or club, to defend her and their future children.

“And the implication of that being what?” Obasan asked, unamused. “That only you will defend this marriage?”

Sokka insisted, “No, absolutely not! Suki is tough as hell. I wouldn’t undermine her like that-”

“Last time I checked, Suki once knocked some sense into my grandson, and taught him how to fight like your warriors,” Kanna defended, keeping a cool tone. “This exchange of gifts could be interpreted as keeping in line with their personal history, wouldn’t you agree?”

Obasan considered the argument in silence.

“I know what it’s like to flee a culture that tries to control every aspect of your life, high cleric,” Kanna continued. “These gifts do not symbolize Suki being confined to a home. It shows that Sokka is able and determined to provide a good home, one in which they are equals.”

Satisfied, Obasan nodded. “Very well. We’ll include this tradition in the ceremony.”

In light of the Southern Water Tribe’s comparatively minimalist approach, Kyoshi Island custom would make up much of the wedding. The culture of the island differed heavily from the rest of the southern states of the Earth Kingdom. As with many aspects of their lives, these customs were influenced by the life of their founder, as Obasan explained.

“Ragni was Lady Kyoshi’s great love. Though many men had tried to win her affection, Kyoshi accepted no one but her firebending teacher as her lover. They spent decades together until Ragni passed from old age. Lady Kyoshi outlived her by almost a century, spending the remainder of her days fulfilling her duties as the avatar, watching over our island, and raising the daughters the pair had adopted and their grandchildren. Though they were never formally wed, the love between Lady Kyoshi and Ragni of the Fire Nation forever changed how we conduct matrimony.”

Sokka spent the remainder of the days leading up to the wedding pouring himself into Kyoshi Island customs, determined to get everything right.

Other aspects of the ceremony, however, could not be so readily accepted, as Sokka found out when he explained how brides in his tribe were traditionally escorted to the wedding.

“Kidnap me?”

“Not a real kidnapping. Just a staged one.”

“Why?”

Sokka knew the pause in his voice spoke volumes. “Long, long ago, before Chief Adlartok united the Southern Water Tribe, every village was considered its own tribe. Most marriages in those days were arranged, but some were not. Sometimes, men would go to other villages, or sometimes even sail north to the Air Islands, to find a wife and bring her home.”

“And this ancient practice is something worth romanticizing in modern weddings?”

“It wasn’t always a real kidnapping,” defended Sokka. “Many times it was an elopement the lovers worked out ahead of time in secret. This was how they got around their families not approving of the marriage.”

“So why is the groom accompanied by so many men when he picks up the bride?”

Sokka hesitated to answer. “Because when people used to do it for real, his friends would back him up to fight off anyone who tried to stop him.”

Suki did not mince her words. “You do realize how fucked up this all sounds, right?”

He knew how it might sound to someone not of his tribe, hence why he brought it up only with her and not with Obasan. Sokka held up his hands in a descelating manner. “We don’t have to do it if you’re uncomfortable.”

She looked away from him, thinking it over. So much of the wedding was going to be influenced by her culture, so much so that Suki started to worry that both Sokka and the rest of his tribe were going to feel excluded or slighted. They had already worked out so many details, harmonizing the differing customs into a congruent ceremony. Perhaps there was a way that this custom could be incorporated. “Who were the men in your ‘raiding party’ going to be?”

“As my best man, Aang would lead them. The rest will be men from my village, including my dad and Bato. I was also going to ask Zuko to join them.”

With one last moment of consideration, Suki decided, “I’ll do it. On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“My girls get to steal you for me.”

Sokka smiled. “Hey, you can steal me as many times as you like.”

* * *

“Toph, you need something new for the wedding.”

“I have nice clothes, Katara,” Toph protested as Katara led her by the arm. The wedding was only a week away, and Katara’s promise to make sure all guests were presentable included Toph, hence why they were visiting Whaletail Island’s only resort.

“Your armor doesn’t count.”

“What about my Ba Sing Se dress?”

“That doesn’t fit you anymore.”

Toph sighed. There was no way she was going to get out of this. “Alright.”

Katara clapped her hands together. “Excellent. And after we’re done shopping, we’ll visit the spa.”

Toph groaned as Katara led her away.

* * *

“Uncle, they already have a band lined up.”

Aside from his clothes and the gift for the newlyweds, his tsungi horn was the only thing that Iroh brought to Kyoshi Island. “What band in this world wouldn’t sound better with an extra player?”

“You don’t have to bring that everywhere you go.”

“Zuko, a man who knows how to play the tsungi horn never has to fear dying alone.”

“For the last time, I am not proposing to Mai that way.”

“As you say,” Iroh held up his hands in an accepting gesture. “I just figured you’d want me to get to know my grand-niblings before I die.”

As Zuko sighed, Ursa, standing at his side, joined Iroh. “I know what you mean. I’m going to have nothing but snow white hair by the time I meet my first grandchild.”

The fire lord stared at her with the aggravation a man can only feel when his mother teams up with his uncle to dunk on his life decisions.

* * *

Pakku met his comrades as they stepped out from their ship and onto the dock, followed by Piandao’s butler, Fat. “Welcome, brothers,” he greeted, bowing his head.

Piandao and Jeong Jeong reciprocated the bow, ignoring the evident strain that Pakku’s old injury caused him when he moved in certain ways. “It’s good to see you again, Pakku,” replied Piandao.

“When’s the last time a wedding had so many of the White Lotus in attendance?”

“Not since Avatar Roku’s wedding centuries ago,” answered Jeong Jeong.

“Is the gift from the order ready?”

Piandao pulled out the lotus tiles sculpted from ivory from a hidden pocket in his sleeve. “We’ll wait until the day after the wedding before giving it to them.”

Many in the White Lotus were hesitant to extend invitations to both Sokka and Suki, but their arguments didn’t survive long. The two had saved the world, were known for their honor and intelligence, and Sokka had been trained by a member. Combined with their roles in the new nation, it made perfect sense to make them members of the White Lotus. When it was suggested that only Sokka receive an invitation, Piandao correctly countered that he wouldn’t accept unless his wife was included.

“Are we all accounted for?” asked Jeong Jeong.

Pakku answered, “With the two of you, we now make four. Grand Lotus Iroh is already here.”

“Did he bring his tsungi horn?” asked Piandao with more than a hint of trepidation.

With a gloomy nod, Pakku confirmed their worries. It wasn’t that Iroh was a bad player, far from it. It was just that he always had a tsungi horn on hand, and would play it without any provocation or invitation. They were downright shocked that he didn’t carry one on his person during his days on the run from the Fire Nation. As the other two lotuses groaned, the far off wail of a ship’s horn sounded in the distance. Jeong Jeong pulled out a small telescope, confirming that the approaching ship bore the insignia of the city of Omashu. He could hear that cackle and snort in his head as clearly as his own name.

“Well, at least Iroh’s musical skills won’t drive us half as crazy as Bumi will.”

* * *

As the couple saw to the last of the preparations, the rest of Team Avatar found a rare opportunity to eat and speak as they did in the old days.

“I can imagine everything that’s going wrong in the palace with me not there-”

“Zuko,” Mai interrupted.

“No politics,” he repeated his promise with a nod. In the royal court, Mai’s shrewd perception, intelligence, and fierce loyalty made her an invaluable partner. But she also knew how to keep Zuko grounded and focused, and when to subtly pull him back for the sake of his own health.

Aang, who had to pull Katara away from her work with the clans of the Southern Air Archipelago and be pulled away from politics himself by all of Team Avatar, put a knowing hand on his shoulder. “The world can wait a couple days while we celebrate with our friends.”

Zuko put a hand over his, accepting the avatar’s wisdom. “Say, do you think helping to bust Suki out of prison means they’re going to name their first kid after me?”

“Maybe their second kid,” Aang countered. “The first kid is obviously going to be named after Sokka’s best man.”

“Uh, hello?” Katara spoke up. “Little sister and biological aunt right here.”

“I think their first daughter will be named after me,” Ty Lee sweetly taunted. “I am a fellow Kyoshi Warrior, after all.”

“You?” Mai asked. “They’ve known us the shortest out of everyone here.”

“Guys, stop arguing,” Toph stepped in. “It doesn’t matter what names they're going to pick. Sokka and Suki are just going to be glad that their kids are going to have us as their aunts and uncles.”

Satisfied with that, everyone dropped the matter.

“Besides,” Toph added with a grin, “we all know their first kid is going to be named after me.”

* * *

The Kyoshi Warriors knelt before their leader. Aiya, Suki’s longtime friend, second-in-command, and maid of honor, spoke for them. “A Kyoshi Warrior never goes unarmed. Not even on her wedding day. So we decided to give you our gift early.”

The new war fans had milky white frames with golden kanji inscribed into the polished metal. The kanji, written in the language spoken before Kyoshi Island became an island, formed two proverbs that held great meaning for the Kyoshi Warriors. On the first was, _Through Justice, Peace_. On the second was, _Iron Only in its Time and Place_.

“You led us into war,” continued Aiya. “We only wish we could’ve been at your side at its end. Just as we have stood behind you in the past, we will stand by your side on this important day, and for everyday thereafter so long as you lead us.”

Suki took the new fans into her hands and bowed her head to her sisters. She had been the youngest leader of the island’s warriors in history. Oyaji’s wisdom to her on the day of her ascension to that responsibility rang like bells in her mind. “Lead them only to where you would go. Act only in ways you would want them to act. Fight for them as you would fight for your own life. Love them. Counsel them. Inspire them, Suki, and let yourself be inspired by them.” 

_If only you could be here today, master._

“Thank you, sisters. I will treasure these for as long as I live, and if any fool tries to take away my husband to be...” Suki unfolded the fans, the sound echoing more sweetly than the drawing of any blade. “These will be the tools with which I educate them.”

* * *

 _Today’s the day_ , was the first thought that dawned on Sokka as he opened his eyes. A cleric gave him a sleeping tonic the night before to combat the anxiety that he knew would keep him awake. “Today’s the day,” he announced to the empty room. He hadn’t shared a bed with Suki for over a week, as Kyoshi Island custom dictated following their purification ritual. He was fine with honoring all of the island’s cultural practices, but that meant he was often alone when he didn’t want or need to be. 

Throughout the engagement, Aang had been a comforting and invigorating presence as his best man. Whenever Sokka voiced his concerns that he would mess up, or wondered aloud if some extremely unlikely scenario would occur to disrupt the wedding, Aang would calmly and lovingly assuage all his fears. But Aang wasn’t in the room right now, and he wasn’t psychic. The only one Sokka had to combat the thoughts of his paranoid mind was himself.

Getting dressed helped take his mind off his nervousness, if only for a few minutes. The traditional groom attire of Kyoshi Island consisted of a thin kimono, striped trousers, and a haori overcoat, along with tabi socks and zori sandals. To reflect his ancestry, the haori was blue instead of the typical black and featured a white fur trim.

His reflection in the mirror did not put a stop to his chaotic chain of thought, though it was thankfully interrupted by his father’s visit. “Doing okay, Sokka?”

Sokka nodded his head, then changed it to a shake. “Were you this nervous when you married mom?”

With a chuckle, Hakoda stated, “I was terrified. Any stories Bato might tell you of me that day are sadly true.”

“How’d you get through it?”

“Well, having Bato as my best man helped, but I was still on edge for most of the day. By the time I was standing in the center of the village, surrounded by our friends and family, I felt like I was going to collapse. Then, just before I felt like I was going to lose all courage, she arrived with Bato and the rest of my party behind her. The moment my eyes met hers, nothing else mattered.”

Sokka smiled, feeling his anxiety slightly lessen. Hakoda put a loving hand on his son’s shoulder. “I know she’s with us today. Your mother and I dreamed of the lives you and Katara would have some day. We couldn’t have found a better match for you than Suki if we tried.”

Sokka threw his arms around his dad, hugging him tightly as a tear fell down his cheek.

“Come on. There’s one more thing to do before the wedding.”

Only those of the Water Tribe gathered on the beach for this private ritual. First, Kanna placed the arch and dot of the Mark of the Wise on Sokka’s forehead. Next, she took Sokka’s right hand and painted the yang symbol on it. “Spirits of water, bear witness to this day as Sokka, our son, brother, and friend, brings a new daughter into our tribe. Just as he has honored us in every stage of his life, let him bring honor to this new family he starts today. Let him face every test of marriage and fatherhood with the wisdom, strength, and love befitting any son of the Water Tribe.”

Afterwards, Kanna approached Suki’s room, where the Kyoshi Warriors and clerics were getting her ready, knocking on the wood of the entrance. “Everyone decent in there?”

“Physically? Yes,” Ty Lee answered. “Morally? No?”

Kanna pulled open the curtain and her eyes went wide. Suki was a vision in white, wearing a heavy shiromuku over another kimono and the layers beneath. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and decorated with flowery kanzashi. A white headdress, shaped almost like a horseshoe, covered the sides and back of her head. New war fans were holstered at her side. The sight of her old necklace around Suki’s throat made Kanna thank the spirits that she had chosen to leave her homeland so long ago.

“You do realize Sokka is going to faint from joy when he sees you, right?”

Suki laughed. “I hope so.”

Kanna gently took Suki’s left hand and carefully painted the yin symbol on it. “Welcome to our tribe, Suki.”

* * *

That night, the men of Sokka’s party arrived at the dojo of the Kyoshi Warriors. As it was the place where Suki once agreed to train Sokka, she had chosen it as her waiting place before the ceremony. Aang entered, with Momo on his shoulder and Zuko, Hakoda, and the other men behind him.

“Good evening, Suki,” Aang greeted with a bow. “We’re, uh… we’re here to steal you, I guess.”

Suki stood and took his outstretched hand. “Take me away, gentlemen.”

As Appa was the means of how Sokka first came to Kyoshi Island, he waited atop his saddle in a forest on the other side of the village. “It’s going to be okay,” Sokka told himself. “I’m going to say the right words in the right order. My vows are going to be perfect. Then I’m gonna put the candle in the bowl, and I’m not gonna trip at any point while I’m carrying them. Nothing bad is going to happen at any point. Right?”

Appa, who was chewing on grass, said nothing.

“...Appa, what if I do fuck up?”

A short grunt was the bison’s only response. Sokka chose to interpret it as the exact words he needed to hear.

“Hey, Water Tribe!” Aiya called out. “Get your ass down here!”

Sokka gingerly descended Appa’s tail, desperately trying not to mess up his clothes. “Good evening...” he said happily, then noticing their drawn swords and fans. “Uh, you know Aang and the other men aren’t armed, right?”

“You’re marrying our leader, Sokka,” Aiya cheekily informed him. “We have to be ready to fight off anyone who might try to take you from us.”

Sokka couldn’t help but laugh. _Well, I got what I agreed to_. “Take me away, ladies.”

The women teased him all along the way, with Appa bringing up the rear of Sokka’s escort.

The guests surrounded the statue of Avatar Kyoshi in a wide ring. At her back was the spot where they would meet. A thick black curtain fixed to bronze poles separated the bride and groom from seeing one another, symbolizing the darkness they walked in before meeting. Sokka could already see Aang in position on his side, as well as the other men of his ‘raiding party’ in the crowd. As soon as Sokka was in place, Aiya took hers on the other side of the curtain.

Obasan began. “Friends and honored guests, we welcome you here tonight as we join Suki of Kyoshi Island and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe in matrimony. These two warriors have withstood the trials of conflict, winning peace for the world and love for each other. Should any among us know of a just reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your tongue.”

Suki drew and opened her war fan, daring anyone to speak up. The guests let out a shared guffaw. Sokka, who had guessed what she had done by the familiar sound of her unfolding fan, thought, _I love you so much_.

“With these humble but invaluable treasures, these two pledge their loyalty to one another. Who stands at this couple’s side to receive these gifts?”

“Aiya of the Kyoshi Warriors.”

“Aang of the Air Nomads.”

With a nod from Obasan, the clerics handed the best man and maid of honor the ceremonial treasures, who passed them to the bride and groom. Suki was given an earthen bowl, lined with ceremonial flowers and incense unique to Kyoshi Island, while Sokka was given a lit candle made of green wax. Obasan found it fitting that his part in the ceremony would echo Ragni, as both were foreigners marrying daughters of the island.

“You each have a portion of a single treasure. Step forth, present them, and join them together in the sight of our lady.”

Upon Obasan’s word, the two began walking in a wide circle around the statue, their way guided by lantern girls, who carried brightly lit lanterns on thin poles ahead and around them. The two met at the front of the statue so that Kyoshi could see them come together. As Sokka at last saw Suki in her bridal wear, his heart skipped a beat, so entranced that he forgot how to breathe. Her loving smile utterly crushed his anxiety, and the veritable genius that was Sokka of the Water Tribe lost all ability to speak or think of anything else but her.

The two stopped only a foot apart from each other. Suki spoke first, holding out the bowl resting on her palms. “With this earth, I vow to hold you, but never trap you. I vow to protect you, but never smother you. So long as you will have me, I will be your home.”

Soka took one small breath to steady himself, and carefully recited the vows that he had spent so long rehearsing as he placed the candle in the center of the bowl. “With this fire, I vow to warm your nights, but never burn you. I vow to light your path, but never blind you. So long as you will have me, I will be your home.”

Suki handed the bowl and its candle to Obasan. On cue, Aang and Aiya approached with the gifts. Sokka wrapped his cloak, a finely weaved piece of wool dyed in ocean and sky blues with a thick, white fur mantle, around Suki's shoulders.

Aiya had carried Suki’s gift in a brown sack. “I know it doesn’t replace the one you lost,” Suki told him, “but I hope this one serves you just as well.” With those words, Aiya handed his gift to Suki. Sokka’s eyes went wide as she put a shiny new boomerang in his hands.

“You are the perfect woman.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

With the exchange complete, the pair walked down the center road of the village, holding the bowl and its candle together between them as they made their way to the beach. Obasan followed at an appropriate distance, with Kanna at her side and the rest of the procession walking behind them. As the couple reached the shore, they stepped out into the surf until they were knee deep in the water. Sokka and Suki slowly lowered the bowl to the water’s surface and gave it a gentle push, sending it out. It was a belief on Kyoshi Island that if the candle was blown out before the bowl vanished from sight or if the bowl sunk into the water, it was a bad omen for the rest of the marriage. One poor wedding saw the Unagi appear out of nowhere and devour the bowl in its massive maw. Sokka, who had been hyperfixating and hyperventilating over such stories for three days straight, anxiously watched as the bowl and candle drifted away. Wordlessly, Suki squeezed his hand, calming his nerves.

Finally, the candle and bowl faded from view, still floating and still burning. The newlyweds turned back to face the procession gathered on the beach. Obasan cried out, “Great Kyoshi, our lady and guardian! Please look upon Suki, your faithful disciple and leader of your warriors, and her new husband, Sokka! Show this union the strength and courage that you have taught us, bringing honor to us all!”

Kanna spoke next. “Spirits of the ocean and moon! Just as you, the man and woman before us are of different natures and origins! Yet, also like you, their differences have brought them together, making them wiser and happier than they were apart! Let this union strengthen both of our communities!”

The elders led the crowd in a bow, which the two reciprocated. As she lifted her head up, Obasan told Suki, “You may now kiss the groom.”

With that, Suki and Sokka held each other close and exchanged their first passionate kiss as husband and wife. The crowd erupted into uproarious applause, cheering so loud that the mainland of the Earth Kingdom could hear them. Many were crying, such as Aang and Katara, while Ty Lee was absolutely bawling her eyes out, ruining her makeup.

“I love you,” said Suki, tears falling down her cheeks, her voice so low he almost couldn’t hear her over the cheering crowd.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

The wedding feast went long into the night. The whole island came alive with the lights and sounds of the partygoers. Following Sokka and Suki’s first dance, the dance floor was always packed. Even Teo busted out some incredible moves on his wheelchair. Couple dances after the newlyweds included Aang and Katara, Mai and Zuko, and Longshot and Smellerbee. Even Pakku, despite his old injury, still treated Kanna to a slow dance. The other members of the White Lotus found themselves being showered with requests for dances from older members of both the Water Tribe and Kyoshi Island, starting with Obasan asking Iroh for a dance. At one point in the night, the grand lotus said to Piandao that they should change their name from the White Lotus to the Silver Fox. Bumi even pulled the cantankerous Jeong Jeong onto the dance floor against his will, earning the laughter of their comrades.

Haru took everyone by surprise when he asked Lady Ursa for a dance, who in turn shocked them all by accepting. “How comforting to know at my age that I can still catch the eye of such a fine young gentleman,” she announced as he led her to the dance floor.

“I assure you, Lady Ursa,” Haru replied, his mustachioed smile complimented by his smooth voice, “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

As the two danced, Haru earned the cheers and envy of everyone around him.

“Zuko,” Mai consoled. “Zuko, calm down.”

“I’m completely calm Mai,” he responded, his voice low and severe. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“They’re just dancing, Zuko.”

“My mother is a grown woman, and she is free to make any choice she wants.”

“Then why is the daifuku in your hand melting?”

Zuko looked down to find that the heat generated from his fist had rendered the dessert a white and red puddle leaking down onto his plate. He groaned, wiping his hand on a napkin.

As their dance ended, Haru bowed to his partner and planted a kiss on her hand, winning Ursa’s warm regards, a memory he would treasure forever, the pride of his parents, the envy of his friends, and the eternal ire of the fire lord.

One near constant on the dancefloor was Ty Lee, who seemed to wield the energy of ten women that night. Other than Zuko, she was the only one to get Mai to dance. The Kyoshi Warriors, as well as many other guests, took note of how many times she and Aiya danced together, seeing their shared, exuberant glances, and the way their hands lingered against the other’s body.

“Ow!” Toph exclaimed, pulling out something hard and metallic from the bun she had just bitten into. The surrounding islanders started to applaud and congratulate her.

“Toph!” Ty Lee squealed, embracing her. “You found the golden seed!”

“So?” she asked, confused as to why anyone would put a piece of gold into a pastry.

“This means you’re the one getting married next!”

Toph didn’t know what it looked like when she blushed, but based on the way the heat felt in her cheeks and how her friends sounded as they laughed and razzed her, she knew it best to hide her face into her dress.

“Wow,” Mai remarked. “Even the single earthbender is going to tie the knot before me.”

Zuko lowered his head as his family started laughing at his expense. The two had decided long ago to wait for marriage, despite the urging of his advisors. Apparently, that mutual decision hadn’t moved teasing him over not proposing yet off the table.

At one point late in the party, Suki asked, “Sokka, have you had a bite yet?”

Sokka thought it over, then realized he hadn’t. For the first time in his life, he had completely forgotten about food. “No. I guess my mind is on other things.”

“Awww,” Suki teased, “you’ve been so focused on me that you forgot how hungry you are! It must be true love!”

He gave her a soft, loving smile, cupping her cheek in his hand. “Yes. Yes it is,” he told her before stealing another kiss.

* * *

The wedding cabin was newly built, secluded in the high hills surrounding Lovefire Peak. As per custom befitting Suki’s role as their leader, the two were escorted up the path by the Kyoshi Warriors. Aiya and Ty Lee spent the whole time talking with one another, which did not go unnoticed by their friends.

“You two had quite some fun on the dancefloor tonight,” teased Sakura. 

If a warrior could blush underneath their makeup, it was clear that the two of them were turning bright red under their war paint.

The path was not a long one. Upon arriving, the Kyoshi Warriors bowed and took their leave. “Treat our leader right, Water Tribe,” Aiya said over her shoulder before the group disappeared from sight.

Unsure of anything else to say, Sokka held his hand out to Suki and asked, “Ready?”

She took his hand, stepping up to the threshold of the cabin’s entrance. Before Sokka could do anything, Suki’s hands moved quickly to his thighs, and with one easy motion she lifted him off the ground.

“I love you so much,” said Sokka, overwhelmed by his wife’s strength and beauty.

Suki smirked as she replied, “Don’t tell me. Show me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happily ever after (WOO!),  
> How could I ask for more?  
> A lifetime of laughter,  
> At the expense of the death of a bachelor
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Sincerely,  
> A.F.S.M.A.S.


End file.
